Above Average Pittsburgh Pirates Blog

Taylor Hearn Assigned to West Virginia Power

According to MLB.com Pirates beat reporter Adam Berry, Taylor Hearn has been assigned to the West Virginia Power.

The Pirates acquired Hearn from the Washington Nationals along with Felipe Rivero in the Mark Melancon deal on Saturday. Hearn had been drafted by the Pirates in 2012 as a 22nd round pick, but chose not to sign. He was was selected by the Nats last year as a fifth round choice. JJ Cooper of Baseball America provided me a scouting report on Hearn.

“Big arm. LHP 93-99 with improved changeup. Slider still needs work. Could be a future relief pitcher though Pirates will start him for now.”

Hearn sustained a foot injury in April, which has limited him to 22.2 innings of work this season. Despite the missed time, he posted a 3.18 ERA along with a very impressive strikeout ratio of 12.3 for the Hagerstown Suns. Hearn will continue to pitch this year at the Low A level in West Virginia.